Love Me
by FaithB
Summary: Spike has left Faith. Chaos ensues.


Love Me  
By Faith Bowie  
Details:  
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faith@hellville.com  
distribution: ask ;)  
rated: PG  
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Faith sat Indian style on the hood of the Desoto. She knew Spike might possibly throw a major hissy if he saw her there, but hell, at least it was a reaction. He'd been next to ignoring her since the week after their engagement, and she hadn't even seen him for the holidays. She was starting to wonder if he was having second thoughts. She wouldn't blame him if he was. So far as she'd heard, she weren't no prize. It wasn't like he was getting a homemaker, and she wasn't by any means glamourous, she didn't even see herself as pretty. The only thing she did well was piss him off, and he could marry Buffy if he wanted that.   
  
Faith was starting t o wonder weither or not Spike had ever intended to marry her or not. She pushed her hair off her shoulders and sighed. Did she really want to know the answer to that question? No, of course not. He was the only bright spot in her life. God, how pathetic.   
  
Faith stood up and stretched a bit. This wasn't getting her anywhere. She decided to go back to the dorm room she'd been staying in ever since Spike left. Hey, raising a kid all by your lonesome requires some kind of education, right?   
  
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Spike sulked past the Bronze and rounded the corner out of the alley where he'd parked his car, unvolentarily, after the engine had conked out.   
  
The second week of November had seen him mindlessly lost in the cemetery with a slight case of held against his own will, only he didn't know it. Whatever had him had erased his memory once he was released, so he really had no way of explaining his absence.   
  
He'd been out all night looking for Faith, so he could try to explain what had kept him away so long. He'd have gone to the Manor first thing, but he'd only just now thought of it. He decided to do just that, and headed, on foot, back to the mansion they had called home ever since Faith had dug that chip out of his head.   
  
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Faith was barely holding it together as she closed the dorm room door behind her and tossed her books on the night stand. If nothing else she was trying not to cry. She hated crying. Only weak people cry, but that's how she felt. Weak. Like her whole little worlds was crashing down around her and their was nothing she could do about it. The only thing she had to look forward to was the arrival of her best friend, Nancy Downs. Nancy was coming out for the wedding, not to mention she had planned to meet the man who finally tamed the Slayer.   
  
She pulled her fully packed suitcase out of the closet. She hadn't unpacked it yet, because, until now, she still had hoped that Spike would find the note she left with her new address on it. She had rolled the message up and slipped it into her engagement ring. She'd left it on one of the red, satin pillows on their bed, knowing that Mr. One Track Mind would look in the bedroom first. He must have found it by now, and he hadn't showed yet. She put 2 and 9 together and came up with the sum of him just not wanting to be with her.   
  
Faith leaned heavily on the dresser. This was eating her up inside. She wondered how she let this 'romance' get so far. It was deeper than anything she could ever remember feeling and as time went on it only got better. Better, that is, when they were together. When Spike was gone it was anguish, literally. It actually, phisically hurt not to be with him. She wondered how Drusilla have could possibly survived after leaving him. It was like giving up air, to anyone who breathed.   
  
Ah, Drusilla. She'd heard that Dru was in town again. That explained things. Oh, damn, now it was really starting to hurt. Spike had left her for Drusilla. She should have seen that one coming, but she had purposly blinded herself. She had actually fooled herself into believing all that forever crap he had been laying on her thick enough to smother a mammoth. He'd told her that it was over between him and Dru, and that she was his girl now. His everything. His world. Yep, that's what he'd said, alright. How could she have been so stupid?   
  
There was a rap at the door. Damnit, she didn't need this right now! Couldn't these people find a better time to ask for her roommate, or better yet, a hobby?   
  
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Spike walked up the twisted staircase and into the Master Bedroom. He tossed his duster onto the bed and looked around.   
  
"Faith!?" He called, slipping out of his dress shirt and t-shirt. He peeked his head into the Master Bath. "Baby, are you home?" No sign of her. He went back into the bedroom. "Sweetheart?" He glanced around again, mulling over the idea of leaving to look someplace else when his gaze fell upon the large, bulbous, silver engagement ring he'd given Faith. He approached it slowly. It was lying on one of the pillows that graced her side of the bed. As he got closer he could see there was a piece of paper rolled up in it.   
  
"Oh, no..." He mumbled in disbelief at the atrocious thought that she might have gotten fed up at his absence and left him.   
  
Spike lifted the ring and slid the note out of it. He unfurled it and began to reluctantly read, petrified that he might find a 'Dear John' letter. To his surprise and delight, there was an address in it and a message that read:   
  
"Can't do this...can't stay here...place reminds me of ya...  
it's pretty much torture and it's drivin' me up the wall.  
If ya ever get tired of bein' gone and decide to come lookin'   
for me, I'll be in Bram Hall, SU campus, room b214.  
I love you, man, don't forget it...ever.  
I'm waitin', always,  
Faith."  
  
  
Spike washed up, not wanting to go back to his girlfriend all graveyard-y, and put on some fresh clothes. He slipped the ring into the pocket of his duster and walked the seven miles to the campus grounds to find her. He used the stairs to go up to the third floor then made his way to room b214.   
  
Spike sighed, and slicked his hair back with both hands. He knocked on the door. Nobody answered. He knocked again. He knew Faith was inside, her scent was everywhere. He knocked a third time, this time getting a response.   
  
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Faith walked over to the door. Damnit, this guy just refused go away, and it was pretty much pissing her off! "Yeah, yeah, hold your water, I'm comin'!"   
  
Faith threw the door opened. "What? Can't a chick wallow in peace...oh..." She looked at Spike for a few seconds then stepped back. "What? Whadda you want?"   
  
Spike huffed. "I want my wife back, that's whut I want."   
  
"I'm not your wife." She sneered, not sure why she was looking a gift horse in the mouth.   
  
Spike leaned against the doorframe and gazed at her sadly. "But you are, Baby, or at least, soon to be, right? I mean, you did say yes, I didn't just imagine that part?"   
  
"Yeah, I said 'yes', but I believe that was before ya took off and left me knocked up with no money."   
  
"Baby, I didn't mean...." Spike punched the doorframe and vamped out. "Oh, bloody hell! Why do you always 'ave to be so damned frustrating!? Can't I just come inside and explain m'self!?"   
  
"Free country." Faith shrugged and leaned against the dresser.   
  
"I need a bit more than that, Ducks."   
  
Faith rolled her eyes. "Ok, fine, come in already."   
  
"Finally." Spike moved in and tried to calm himself from the inside out. Faith wasn't like Drusilla or Harmony. You couldn't just blow up at Faith, he'd learned this through trial and error. If he didn't do this right, he would lose her forever, just like that.   
  
He reached out to touch her arm, just to be near her, but she turned from him. She folded her arms, defensively, and stared out the window.   
  
"Baby...I'm sorry...I'm sorry you've been on your own so long..." He noticed how much weight she'd gained with the baby since he'd last saw her. "Especially in your condition..."   
  
"Wanna tell me why ya left then?" She snapped at him.   
  
Spike got defensive. "I didn't leave! I couldn't even tell you whut happened! I've been gone, but I don't know where so stop nagging me about it!"   
  
"Is this the part where ya apologize for screamin' at me?" Faith's eyes were still fixed out the window.   
  
Spike calmed down. "Yeh, I wus getting to that part..."   
  
"I thought ya left...I thought..." She stopped herself.   
  
Spike couldn't see Faith's face, but from the sound of her voice he could tell that she was about to start crying, and that's something he never wanted to see her do. He moved closer to her and put his arms around her from behind, nuzzling into her hair and whispering, "I could never leave you..."   
  
Faith melted, and leaned into his touch. It had been so long since he'd held her that she'd forgotten how safe it made her feel. She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, looking up into his eyes. "So, your gonna take me home and not gonna do this again, like, ever, right?"   
  
He smiled, closed his eyes, and touched his forehead to hers. "Never. Scouts Honor."   
  
Faith closed her own eyes. "Good, cuz I don't know if I'll survive it next time."   
  
Spike smirked and lifted her into his arms. "Well, that's a peachy theory, idn't it? Too bad we're never going to test it out. C'mon, baby, let's go 'ome..." With that he kissed her softly on the lips, then the forehead and carried her out the door.   
  
  
FIN 


End file.
